Feb 20, 2019
The California Bridge Program is establishing a culture of evidence-based medicine in California. Over the course of 17 months (February 2018 – July 2020), accelerated training and technical assistance for health care providers will provide the foundation necessary to enhance and increase access to 24/7 treatment in every community in the state.
The California Bridge Program will develop hospitals and emergency rooms into primary access points for the treatment of acute symptoms of substance use disorders by way of motivation, resources, and encouragement for patients to enter and remain in treatment. Participating sites will address substance use disorders as a treatable chronic illness and utilize harm reduction techniques, such as naloxone distribution, to minimize the risks associated with substance use disorders. Funding, training, and technical assistance will increase and improve access to facility-wide treatment and referral of those with acute symptoms of substance use disorders.
The current cohort includes Star sites, Rural Bridge sites, and Bridge Clinics. Star sites will become centers of excellence for initiating treatment of substance use disorders from anywhere in the hospital. Rural Bridge sites will generally be in less-urban centers and begin developing treatment primarily in the emergency department. Bridge Clinics will be ‘low-threshold’ follow-up clinics that patients can visit after starting treatment in the hospital setting while a longer-term outpatient referral is identified.
Profiles of this work have been widely reported in the New York Times and Vox.
Jan 22, 2019
The Expanding Access to MAT in County Criminal Justice Settings Learning Collaborative is funded by the SOR grant and administered by Health Management Associates (HMA). HMA recruited teams from counties that committed to expanding access to at least two forms of MAT to persons in jails and drug courts. Each team includes 5-8 leaders from jail health care services, jail custody operation, county manager’s office, probation, drug courts, county AOD program, and others. Teams receive $25,000 each to cover costs of participation and other training/learning activities.
Over the course of 18 months (August 2018 – January 2020), teams will participate in four in-person learning collaboratives to gain deep understanding of opioid and other addictions and treatments, share best practices, learn about the many facets of continuing MAT and inducting persons with OUD on MAT in jail or through courts and probation, and develop or expand county-specific MAT programs in jails and drug courts. Teams receive monthly coaching calls and technical assistance from HMA and HMA is developing a series of webinars and podcasts on topics specific to MAT in criminal justice that are available to the teams and to the public. DHCS has also offered the teams grants of $100,000 to $300,000 to kick off new programs and capacities while sustainable local sources of funding are secured.
HMA will conduct a second cohort of up to 20 additional counties to participate in a second round from April 2019 through September 2020. Applications are due March 1. To learn more about the project and the second cohort application process, visit the project website.
